Job Discussion Forums

Woofy I Toby · Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Posts: 14

Aplogies. I just posted this on the newbie forum then realised the Mexico forum would probably make more sense. Duh... spot the newbie. Anyway, any help appreciated...

My partner and I would like to teach in Guadalajara and wondered if anyone could advise on this. Key issues are personal safety, especially for women, and how easy it is to live as a veggie in Mexico. Regarding the latter, I currently live in Japan so I am used to a certain degree of confusion about it.

Also, if anyone can advise good schools or companies to go through, that would be greatly appreciated too.

We both have TEFLS, BAs and Post-grad qualifications plus a year's teaching experience in Japan. We would be looking to go to Mexico in August.

Thanks for any help given.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Start with this one...

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=46273&highlight=guadalajara

This is a list of many other posts on the topic over the last three years...a wealth of info I think.

August is a great time to go....

Woofy I Toby · Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Posts: 14

Thank you

Aabra · Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 64

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

I think the original poster is probably more concerned with the best time to look for a good job and not necessarily when the best weather is. August marks the return to classes in many schools in Mexico.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Thank you, Samantha, that is indeed what I'd meant. Rainy season can be a soaker in many places in Mexico though, from about June to late October or so. Acapulco gets torrents of water, leaving the main drag, the Costera, passable only by canoe sometimes.

MamaOaxaca · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 201 Location: Mixteca, Oaxaca

I also think August is a great time. But wonder why you are limiting yourselves to Guadalajara?
We often hire teachers with your profiles in August of all times! Wink

I'm not a vegetarian, but since no one has really addressed those issues, its not hard to be a midly tolerate vegetarian, but Mexico could be hell for a vegan or grumpy/strict type vegetarian like the ones who don't even want their food prepared in pans that have ever held meat. Razz

There are vegetarian restuarants in all the big cities and there is always a cheese egg option, but quesdillas and scrambled eggs can get old if those are the only options out there for you. There is a lot of lurking chicken stock in Mexican cooking. See that rice, prepared with powdered chicken stock, those beans? same thing, vegetable soup, you quessed it, it's got chicken stock. I'm seen some vegetarians turn green (or red) at the thought, others take it in stride and decide that a littl unsean chicken stock is not the end of the world. I quess it depends on the person. IF you cook at home you can make fabulous vegetarian food in Mexico. My family are in house vegetarians ourselves, we never eat meat in our home, but do eat it out and about. Oh and there are several soy products available even in small towns.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

MamaOaxaca · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 201 Location: Mixteca, Oaxaca

My husband and I believe that a vegetarian diet is healthier for us and for the planet. Meat eating is hard on the digestive system and hard on the ecosystem. But we would never turn down food that others have struggled to provide us with. We always eat what is served at weddings, baptisms, etc. We also eat what ever we are served when visiting another person's home. We also from time to time, find it hard to resist the smell of tacos. But there are so many fabulous things to make that do not contain meat, that I never miss it when I'm the cook. I've trained my housekeeper to cook without meat and with as little oil as possible as well. Besides, I can't stand to touch raw meat and avoid the meat section of the market like the plague! (We should really all petition Dave for a puking emoticon!) The only meat I've cooked in 10 years are 4 turkeys, and that's because I love turkey and there's no one else to do it at Thanksgiving time.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

MamaOaxaca wrote:

Woofy I Toby · Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Posts: 14

[quote] I also think August is a great time. But wonder why you are limiting yourselves to Guadalajara?
We often hire teachers with your profiles in August of all times! [/quote]

We would certainly consider other options in Mexico. Guadalajara was just the place that appealed most from the research we did.

We thought to go for a city for convenience and more schools so a better chance of living together (the only negative we have for our time in Japan is being placed two hours apart. As long as we can live together I think we will consider most locations in Mexico.)

Thanks for all the vegetarian advice. We are the type of veggie who won`t eat meat or fish but will generally turn a blind eye to what it is cooked with (otherwise I doubt I`d have eaten since I got to Japan! Smile

)

But we do also like cooking at home so I guess we`ll have no problems.

Aabra · Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 64

Nothing beats Guadalajara when it comes to the climate. I've lived here for 3 years now and honestly it's paradise. (Although I guess it depends on your lifestyle.) If you want a nice apartment be ready to pay 3500+ pesos a month, however if you don't mind living in a dive then there are rat infested places available for only 1000. Laughing

While the other parts of Mexico aren't really that bad I really do believe Guadalajara is the best. It's much safer and cleaner than Mexico City while at the same time being the second largest city in all of Mexico with lots of job opportunities. It never gets too hot or too cold and there's no rain for 9.5 months!

This is all IMHO of course and your experience will completely depend on the people you meet and what type of work environment you end up in.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Guadalajara is a great town...2nd largest but it doesn't much feel like 7 million people at all. I find it quite a bit warmer than DF but nothing like the eastern Ontario hot and muggy I grew up in. Safer and cleaner than DF? I'd say about the same, but each city has its dodgy and swank areas. According to another poster, GDL has been getting lower air quality than DF, which is weird...its ordinarily the reverse.

I don't miss the rain...we've been getting some lately in Mexico City, out of season.

Woofy I Toby · Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Posts: 14

[quote]Aabra wrote:
It never gets too hot or too cold and there's no rain for 9.5 months!
That doesn't sound like much of a selling point to me:[/quote]

It sounds like a selling point to me. I grew up in Wales where the rain is plentiful. Now I live in Okayama - where the sun always shines - and I much prefer it.